Internet media company Yahoo Inc. launched in India on Monday its first software development centre outside the United States, and said it expects to employ about 150 engineers at the unit by the end of 2004.

Yahoo joins a growing number of global firms such as IBM and Motorola that are fast expanding their technology centres into India, taking advantage of the nation's low-cost software workforce.

Yahoo's research and development unit in Bangalore would help the company develop software that would help the portal innovate and improve features such as job hunts, e-commerce and content search, Venkat Panchapakesan, chief executive officer of Yahoo Software Development India Pvt Ltd, told a news conference.